This Week’s Must Read

Category: This Week’s Must Read

Once you get past the bureaucracy, it’s not too hard.
The annual Medicare Open Enrollment season opened Sunday, Oct. 15 and runs through Thursday, Dec. 7. Unfortunately, Medicare is a maze with more twists and turns than an Agatha Christie novel.

You’ll have a lot to look forward to if you plan well
Living within your means can be difficult. It requires planning, discipline and awareness of what your personal financial limits are.

Getting started on planning your finances and adhering to your personal financial plan day in and day out can be a bit of a challenge — especially at first. But, as time goes by, it becomes easier and ultimately a positive, life-changing experience. As you gain control over your finances, you will have an enhanced feeling of personal empowerment and a more comfortable, and less stressful existence. Train yourself to be financially responsible and live within your means now and it will serve you well when you are retired and living on a fixed income for life.

These are the best — and worst — things about your retirement savings plan; Auto enrollment and escalation make a big difference.
For some, saving for retirement is an automatic task every paycheck. For others, it’s a struggle — and for many more, it’s nearly impossible.

If you’re traveling far from home, you probably want to do all you can to make sure your wallet or purse doesn’t end up in the wrong hands. But according to a recent Experian ProtectMyID survey, 30% of travelers have experienced identity theft while away from home or know someone who has.

Getting your finances squared away is only one part of preparing for retirement — mental preparation is also crucial. So many Americans are not financially ready for retirement, but even when they do have the money for it, they may not be mentally prepared.

The moment you have dreaded has finally arrived. Your baby is leaving the nest. Some of the most valuable lessons you can impart should be shared right now, before they head out into the world.

In case you need help picking some wisdom to pass on, we’ve asked top money managers and financial pros to weigh in with their favorite lessons you should share with your child. You might learn a little something, too!

As you have certainly seen all over the news, Equifax, one of the three major credit bureaus, announced recently that it has suffered a data breach that may have affected 143 million US consumers. A data breach that has the potential to be the most consequential in history.

With today’s relatively generous $5.49 million federal estate tax exemption, estate planning is only a concern for the rich. Right? Wrong! In fact, regardless of your income or net worth, there’s one estate planning move you should probably make right now: check the beneficiary designations for your life insurance policies, bank accounts, brokerage firm accounts, retirement accounts, and so forth. If you’ve not yet turned in the proper forms to designate beneficiaries, do it now. If your forms are out of date, refresh them.

Of the 143 million U.S. consumers whose personal information was potentially exposed in the Equifax Inc. data breach, the wealthy could face their own particular set of vulnerabilities.

Would-be criminals could use customers’ stolen names, Social Security numbers, birth dates and addresses—information exposed in the Equifax breach—to target those who may have bigger bank accounts, larger lines of credit and more assets, experts say.

This retirement cost is inevitable — and can be insanely expensive; Almost 70% of Americans turning 65 will need some form of long-term care
Long-term care is something not all Americans plan for, or even think about, though they should.
The numbers are overwhelming — an American turning 65 today has a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care service, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and though one-third of today’s 65-year-olds may not need it, 20% of them will for more than five years. Women, on average, need care for longer than a man — 3.7 years versus 2.2 years, respectively. About 10,000 people turn 65 years old every day, and will until 2029, according to Pew Research Center.